MC Clint Hawes was up and dancing with a group of girls during last year’s July Osoyoos Street Dance in the bandshell at Gyro Park. (Richard McGuire file photo)

After 31 years of Osoyoos street dances, it’s a challenge to come up with new ideas, but Clint Hawes has a few up his sleeve to get people hopping this Saturday.

For the second year in a row, the “street dance” has moved off the pavement and is on the grass at the Gyro Park bandshell, from 7 to 10 p.m.

This is the fifth year that Hawes has run the popular street dances, which take place one night each in July and August. The second dance this year is Aug. 19.

The first three years, Hawes acted as Master of Ceremonies for the dances organized by the Osoyoos Seniors Centre, which took over the dances that were run for 26 years by the Sologuk family who own Osoyoos Home Hardware.

When the Sologuks ran the dances, they took place on a closed off street, but when the Seniors Centre took them over, they moved to the parking lot by the museum.

Last year Hawes and his wife Brigitte took them on with help from their son Quinn and moved them to Gyro Park.

Hawes likes to get the audience up on stage participating in dancing contests, often competing for prizes generously donated by local merchants.

The support of local businesses, he said, has been “absolutely phenomenal.”

Last year RCMP Cst. Sheldon Herman was a big hit in a dance off that raised money for Desert Valley Hospice Society.

Hawes wanted to get the RCMP involved again this year, and he has dreams of a dance off between RCMP and firefighters, but he was told the RCMP are too short-staffed at this busy time to commit.

Another hit last August was a limbo-dancing contest, which Hawes plans to bring back this year.

He’s coy about what else he plans for this year’s dances, but Hawes did give one hint: bolo bats.

Bolo bats were a popular children’s toy from the 1930s to 1960s consisting of a round bat like a ping-pong paddle with a rubber ball attached with an elastic.

He’s also got some music trivia questions up his sleeve for a chance to win prizes.

Hawes and his son try to mix up the music to appeal to a wide range of people across the generational spectrum at this family event.

There’s everything from newer contemporary music to hip-hop to golden oldies and rock ’n roll.

“Anybody can dance to that,” he says of the old rock ’n roll, including songs by the Beach Boys, Rolling Stones and Beatles. “The kids seem to like it and it’s amazing how many of them know the songs.”

He also plays some disco as well as older contemporary.

“It’s a real big mixture,” says Hawes. “The funniest thing was we had a couple of kids last year come up to my son, who runs the music, and they were eight or nine years old. And they said, ‘don’t you have any country music?’ It blew me away.”

Hawes said some people plan their holidays to coincide with the street dances and they come from all over.

“I couldn’t believe how many people say they plan their holidays to be here on these weekends,” he said. “Especially the Albertans.”

RICHARD McGUIRE

Osoyoos Times